GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



qualities should be sufficient to make one forget the 

 outside world, — other forms of life and other pleasures 

 than those which lurk in its bursting buds and unfolding 

 leaves. 



At the present time, there seems to be a return to 

 favor of small gardens placed near the house, and with 

 several styles of architecture now in vogue such a 

 situation for them is entirely practical. They should, 

 however, be constructed in conjunction with the house, 

 that a certain sense of proportion may be established. 

 A small garden, not adjacent with, but somewhat 

 apart from, the house is seldom an artistic success. 

 It might better be moved to a spot more isolated. 

 But a small garden built as a feature of a house, almost 

 as a room out-of-doors, affords an opportunity for 

 intimate knowledge of its life such as is not always 

 enjoyed when it is placed farther away. 



It is from the veranda of Commodore Benedict's 

 house at Indian Harbor that one steps into the formal 

 garden shown in plate xxx. A closer relation between 

 house and garden is hardly imaginable. In truth, 

 this garden saves the house from appearing to stand 

 too abruptly on the sea. In this particular spot, 

 only a formal garden would be appropriate. Its trees 

 and shrubs appear to live contentedly very near the 

 water. The flowers, that here produce bold masses of 

 color, are mostly bedding plants, begonias, geraniums, 

 dusty millers, verbenas, and standard heliotropes. In 

 the autumn the half-hardy hydrangeas are brought 

 into prominence. 



In the very formality of this garden, there is a 



[ 104 ] 



